LYING WONDERS: “ANTICHRIST IS WAITING SATAN’S POWER”(Revelation 13:4)
IF YOU CANNOT SEE THE EVIDENCE OF THE ANTICHRIST YOU MAY BE SPIRITUALLY BLIND! No student of the Holy Scripture who has even a limited knowledge of world events would dare question the eminence of the Antichrist appearance. The “MAN OF SIN” is at the door. Streams of diverse religions are experiencing explosive revival. A recent advertisement in U.S.A. Today announced Mary appearances (called apparitions) throughout the world. The Tara Center Newsletter, called “Network News,” reported appearances of the christ, called “Maitreya” in Kenya and other locations.
A noted New Ager, Benjamin Crème, who claims to be the master for Maitreya gave the following report. “According to BC, Maitreya appears to people in many stations of life, but always in a way that coincides with their concepts of Him. One recent case, that has been reported around the world, occurred in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. There, a charismatic Christian named Sister Mary Akatsa has a faith-healing center where many miraculous cures are said to take place. Last month she announced that an important visitor would come and address the people. On June 11 He appeared suddenly in the crowd and spoke to them in their own language, Swahili, for a time. The visitor, she claimed was Jesus Christ. Photographs were taken and have been show with stories in the Kenya Times, the BBC World Service, CNN and one of the largest newspapers in Japan. Additional stories have appeared in the Manchester Guardian in the UK, National Public Radio in the US, and possibly elsewhere.”
“Through his own Master, Benjamin Crème confirmed that this appearance was truly Maitreya, the Christ in one of His many guises.” He also reported “crosses of light,” which he describes as the sign of the Christ. He claims one was witnessed in Louisiana and another at El Monte, California. Mr. Crème is a devout supporter of the apparitions of Mary and promises that these manifestations will continue to appear. He says of the Madonna’s visions, “the authentic visions of the Madonna are the work of the Master who was the mother of Jesus in that earlier time.” (Benjamin Crème, “Network News”)
There is probably no “Lying Wonder” more prominent and deceiving than the idea of the Virgin Mary apparitions. Catholic friends have warned me not to attack the Mother of Jesus or belittle her appearances. The very idea of this blessed woman being ridiculed seems to many people as a blasphemous thing. What is the real truth behind her elevation in the Catholic theology that would pave the way for such deception? She surely was the virgin maiden whom the Holy Ghost overshadowed and by whom the Son of God was born. She was a saintly and Godly woman, but was not, and is not, “The mother of God,’ without inherent sin, always a virgin who was translated to heaven without death.”
When she is given an idolatrous position as co-redemptrix with Jesus Christ, the Word of God is horribly violated. The hierarchy of Catholicism has twisted the Word of God to create a monstrous lie which will damn a myriad of souls to eternal hell. Satan’s darkest lies are always tied to God’s best truths. The purpose is to make the true prophet of God appear unbalanced and uncaring. The Marian doctrine was no doubt the plan of Satan as much for end time deception as for the dark ages of bondage.
It is becoming clear that the doctrine of Maryology and the deceptive appearances will be one of the major methods for satanic delusion, his lying wonders and his unifying the apostate religious leaders. Key personalities from the Pentecostal and Evangelical world are becoming dedicated supporters of Marian apparitions. In a recent book on “the Madonna of Medjugorje,” the following report was given of a key Pentecostal figure now deceased. He was called “Mr. Pentecost.”
The author’s words as following are scary. “But a well-known American Pentecostal leader, David du Plessis, came away with a quite different impression. Having expected to find unrestrained Mary-worship, he had been amazed to discover the emphasis being placed on Jesus and the New Testament. The whole place,” he concluded, “ is charged with the love of God. You can feel it and you can see it. I told myself that if there had been anything wrong with what was happening here, there would not be the manifestations of the Holy Spirit that I could clearly observe.” “There is a rare kind of unison about the prayers and hymns,” another observer noted, “real attentiveness to the lengthy sermons, tolerance for cold stone floors for hour after hour, long lines of penitents waiting for confession at the head of each aisle and at many other points in the church. I felt personally that I was in the midst of people who were truly raising their minds and hearts to God.” (Spark From Heaven, Mary Craig, page 117)
One of the principal fruits of the Medjugorje event is called the “New Ecumenism.” This “New Ecumenism” as they named it is all inclusive. We are not talking about Christians united together beyond denominational barriers or even Protestants, Catholics, and Jews. That is the old Ecumenism. The new will be inclusive of all the religious expressions including heathens, witch doctors and will eventually embrace WICCA and other Satanist groups. It is clearly the preparation for the false prophet who will be the anti-holy spirit of tribulation.
Here are the words of a Catholic Archbishop. “Within the Church itself, there were those, on the left, who were allergic to the mere mention of apparitions, discussing them as hallucinations, a projection of the subjective unconscious; while the traditionalists on the right would condemn and reject the Ecumenical message of Medjugorje, the new Ecumenism which Archbishop Frane Franic of Split praised as one of Medjugorje’s principal fruits. His observation, that ‘Our Lady is bringing us closer together, uniting us with our brothers from the Orthodox Church, the Muslims and even our Marxist brothers,’ was calculated to sent a shudder down many a conservative Catholic’s spine, but warmly endorsed by a Muslim dervish from Mostar who had been into the apparitions room.” (Ibid.)
These are the words of the Muslim dervish who was mentioned above. “I felt in my heart such energy that I could have cried aloud. I thought that I too would go into ecstasy. I decided to pray the whole night…The world is looking for God. If it looks for Him, it will find Him. If it finds Him, it will cling lovingly to Him, and he who is in love with God cannot ever be separated from Him.” (Ibid.)
The following quotes of a priest even includes the Hindoos. “May the reconciliation in Medjugorje and in the diocese of Mostar become a channel for wider reconciliation between Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims of the region, so that the reconciled people of Hercegovina may become an inspiration to other regions of the world in need of reconciliation: between Jews and Arabs, between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, between Hindoos and Muslims, between Iraq and Iran, between rich and poor, between oppressors and oppressed everywhere.”
Every Bible believer should watch this idea of a “New Ecumenism.” It will continue to spread and many in our churches that only recently were bastions of Fundamentalism will be swayed into their camp. The only safeguard to the present apostasy is the mighty power of the Holy Ghost, while living under absolute authority to the Word of God.
This “New Ecumenism” has already surfaced in the Pentecostal ranks under the guises of several ideas. Dominion Theology, Restoration, City Church, New Wave are a few names connected with the early stages. The key element in all of these thoughts is an emphasis on prophetic utterances apart from and even superceding the Word of God. These ideas are all based on new subjective theological thinking that leaves the door wide open to deception. The infallible Word of God is the only objective base for truth. Holy Spirit revelation, inspiration, or supernatural activity is always clearly, unquestionably and plainly anchored in Holy Scripture. Not one jot or tittle of departure can be tolerated.
The Apparition Of Fatima! An elaborate figure of “Our Lady of Fatima” is called the “traveling” statue and has been on the circuit since 1947. The picture of this statue was just published in Elkins, West Virginia where it was on display and religious services were being held. This statue is reported to have miraculously shed tears 22 times. Books have been written on the supernatural events and healings connected with this particular apparition in Portugal. The following description of the original event was reported in the Elkins, West Virginia newspaper. “Messages given to the children by the apparition of Mary included, that if certain conditions were met, Russia would be converted and an era of peace will be granted to all people. The conditions included praying the Rosary daily, obeying the Ten Commandments, offering sacrifices demanded by daily duty, and wearing a scapular—two pieces of brown cloth connected by a cord and worn around the shoulders as a symbol of the profession of faith.” (The Inter-Mountain, Elkins, W.Va., Wednesday, October 9, 1991, page 7.)
The children were the actual witnesses. They were 9, 8, and 6 years old. The visions were supposed to have happened once a month from May 13 through October 13, 1917. It’s incredible that an event involving three young children has now grown to be a worldwide phenomenon with a weeping statue and a multi-million dollar enterprise. The secular media would go crazy if a fundamentalist ministry would involve so much elaborate outlay of money and beguile so many elderly or suffering people. It’s a deception on a level that transcends all the modern televangelists put together.
ROMAN SHRINE AT LOURDES! An entire article could be written about Lourdes, France and the religious deception involved. The following was printed in “Midnight Call,” along with the picture of this famous shrine. “The famous Roman shrine is located in southwest France in the city of Lourdes. Here is where mainly Roman Catholics come from the world over climbing the so-called “Holy Stairs” to the shrine to gain indulgence. A posted notice roughly reads, ‘Four times a year, to the days of their choice, all the faithful who climb the stairs gain an indulgence of nine years on the following conditions:”
1. Having confessed and communicated.
2. Ascended on their knees.
3. Prayed for the Pope.
It is significant that while kneeling and ascending to the shrine, they are facing the symbol of Rome and Pontius Pilate. Jesus is a powerless prisoner to the left.” (Midnight Call, October, 1991, page 14.)
MARIAN YEAR PROCLAIMED BY POPE. The explosion of Maryology influence and the worldwide activity of different apparitions is not an accident. It is all clearly calculated to promote the Catholic Church and to seek world dominion by this harlot of Revelation. Pope John Paul was a clever leader playing all sides against the middle. His influence mushroomed and world religious leaders were not about to resist. A “One World Religion” is very near. “1988” was proclaimed by the Pope as the “Marian Year. Connected with this prayer is a short statement by a priest called “Brother Patrick Concidine, C.SS.R. The words of that prayer were blasphemous suggestions that Mary was the savior or protector of Jesus from the fears He experienced. It’s a subtle reduction of the Son of God while Mary is elevated as His savior.
The Harlot is on the ascendancy. I do not believe that ordinary Catholic people are any less sincere or more evil than Protestants. There are many wonderful people in both arms of Christendom, but most are utterly untaught by their shepherds and certainly unaware of the coming cloud. Those churches that were powerful for God a few years ago are now descending into the same confusion. It’s a world of apostasy that is coexisting with loud statements of success and victory. The evidence is in. The Antichrist is at hand! Signs and wonders can tell the loudest lies of all. The hearts of all humankind are so besieged with difficulty that everyone is looking for hope. We tend to grasp those ideas or experiences that give us emotional lifts when we need to fix our heart on Jesus Christ and His clear promises. Emotions are temporary but the promises of Scripture made real by Holy Ghost filled prayer are stable and satisfying. Those who survive this last hour before Jesus appears will be the “hardy” and the “holy.” THE ANTICHRIST IS AT HAND! (TO BE CONTINUED! Next week we will see WONDERS in leading Charismatic circles, WONDERS that cannot be called Biblical